Ep. 1: We Are Ninja
is the first episode of Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. It took an unusual approach among Sentai in introducing only three members of the five-man team, Sasuke (NinjaRed), Saizou (NinjaBlue), Tsuruhime (NinjaWhite). The remaining two members, Seikai (NinjaYellow) and Jiraiya (NinjaBlack), would be introduced in the next two episodes respectively. Synopsis Two young men are fooled into releasing the seal on the Yokai and must become the Ninja Sentai Kakuranger to stop the forces they inavertedly unleashed on the world. Plot The episode opens with The Announcer (appearing via explosion) telling the story of how the Youkai were originally sealed: Long ago, during the Warring States period, Sasuke Sarutobi, Saizou Kirigakure, Seikai Miyoshi, Jiraiya, and Tsuruhime fought together to seal Nurarihyon and the Yokais power behind the Door of Seals. The story moves to the present day where Sasuke and Saizou, descendants of Sasuke Sarutobi and Saizou Kirigakure, are bickering over what to eat and the lack of funds to actually do so. They witness a Bespectacled Man being attacked by a group of thugs who take his bag. They fight the attackers off with a well-aimed boot and return the man’s bag. The odd looking man demands that they take the bag to the “Kappa Inari Shrine” on a certain island and gives them a map before apparently dying. Saizou opens up the bags and discovers that it’s filled with money! The Bespectacled Man wakes up briefly to inform them that they can keep a reward for themselves as long as the take it to the shrine, and dies once more. Arriving on the island, Sasuke and Saizou come across a group of children, led by a young girl. Sasuke and Saizou ask them for help, but the kids run off, leading the two men on a meandering chase through the woods, all while taunting them with a song. Unbeknownst to either of them, the whole chase is observed by a mysterious creature in a nearby pond. Just as they are about to give up and go home, the kids reappear, transforming into armed ninjas! The ninjas proceed to chase Sasuke and Saizou, forcing them into deadly traps from which they narrowly escape. They stumble upon an ancient, ornate door, guarded by a statue that scares the pursuing ninjas. The little girl reappears, tricking Saizou into stepping on a switch that opens the door by hooking the bag carrying the money on a fishing pole. The girl reveals herself to be the Bespectacled Man in a magical disguise, who thanks them for their help and reveals that the money in the bag was disguised cucumbers the entire time. An old man appears riding a magic cloud, whom the Bespectacled Man calls Sandayuu. Sandayuu warns Sasuke and Saizou that the door had sealed away the power of the Youkai, but he’s too late to stop it. The energy and Youkai sealed behind the door escape, the Bespectacled Men reveals himself to have been a Youkai himself, a Kappa, the entire time. Sandayuu flees, telling Sasuke and Saizou to embrace their destiny. The Kappa sends Sasuke and Saizou back to the city in the subway, where they encounter numerous Youkai, including dorodoros, Azukiarai, Nurikabe, and Mokumokuren. Making it to the surface, they see strange castle appear in the middle of the city. Sandayuu appears once again, who sends them to a quarry-like area, where they come across five swords stuck in the ground. The castle appears once again, and a white female ninja flies out of it in the form of a paper crane. She identifies herself as Tsuruhime the 24th, and Saizou almost immediately starts flirting with her. She chastises them for opening the door and instructs them to pull out two of the swords while she pulls out a third, stating that they can only be removed by the heir of a ninja bloodline. They pull out the swords, releasing a massive amount of energy. This causes the castle to turn into a giant robot, the Muteki Shogun, out of whom comes the spirits of Sasuke Sarutobi, Saizou Kirigakure, Seikai Miyoshi, Jiraiya, and Tsuruhime. Although Sasuke Sarutobi and Saizou Kirigakure express skepticism of their descendants, they alongside the ancient Tsuruhime, give their descendants devices called Doron Changers (alongside a small lecture on personal hygiene from Sasuke Sarutobi and Saizou Kirigakure) and instruct them to go forth and protect the world from Youkai. Before Sasuke and Saizou can recover from what just happened, the Kappa and a band of dorodoros attack! Tsuruhime, Sasuke and Saizou activate the Doron Changers and become NinjaWhite, NinjaRed, and NinjaBlue, the first three members of Ninja Sentai Kakuranger! Using their newly granted magical ninja abilities, they fight of dorodoros. The Kappa gives them a hard time, and stands on the verge of winning, but is fended off by an attack by the Muteki Shogun. Suddenly, another Youkai appears: a pink octopus that calls the Kappa “darling”… The Announcer appears once again to sign off the episode, And then he explodes. Cast * : * : * : (credit only) * : * : (credit only) * : *The Announcer: Guest Cast * : * : **Girl: *Boat Man: *Kakuranger's Ancestors: , , , Errors to be added Notes *First appearance of Sasuke, Saizou, Tsuruhime, Sandayuu, the Dorodoros, The Announcer, and Muteki Shogun. *'Eyecatch' **'Featured Kakuranger (Pre-Break):' NinjaRed **'Featured Kakuranger (Post-Break):' NinjaRed *While J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai, Battle Fever J, Dengeki Sentai Changeman, and Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger are the only Sentai acknowledged as not having a Yellow Ranger, this episode also counts since, as previously noted, Seikai doesn't appear (although he is credited, seen in the opening, and is introduced in the next episode). *The first song the children sing is a very old Japanese folk song called . It is associated with a childrens game, and is used in modern day Japan to let children know when to cross the street. *The second song the children sing is another traditional Japanese childrens song called . It is sung as part of a game similar to the western game Red Rover. *This episode shares the same translated title as the first episode of a later ninja season. **This is the only opening episode of a ninja season to have "ninja" written in kanji in the first episode title. DVD Releases *''Ninja Sentai Kakuranger'' Volume 1 features episodes 1-11.http://www.toei-video.co.jp/DVD/kakurenger.html *The complete Kakuranger series was released in North America by Shout! Factory in 2016. See Also References Category:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Category:Sentai episodes Category:Season Premieres Category:Written by Noboru Sugimura